Martial law in the Philippines
[6][7] Under the current Constitution of the Philippines, the president, as head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, may declare martial law "in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.
[13] Despite such declaration, which provided a 48-hour period in giving amnesty to rebels except their leaders, Blanco adopted a cool, conciliatory stance, seeking to improve Spain's image in the face of world opinion.
[15] On May 23, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in which he assumed command of all Filipino military forces and established a dictatorial government with himself styled as "Dictator" instead of "President" as in his previous "Republic of the Philippines".
[citation needed] On January 2, 1942, after Manila was captured, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Forces Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma proclaimed martial law in all occupied areas.
Opposition figures of the time, such as Lorenzo Tañada, José W. Diokno, and Jovito R. Salonga, accused Marcos of exaggerating these threats, using them as a convenient excuse to consolidate power and extend his reign beyond the two presidential terms allowed by the 1935 constitution.
After Marcos was ousted, government investigators discovered that the declaration of martial law had also allowed the Marcoses to hide secret stashes of unexplained wealth which various courts[22] later determined to be "of criminal origin.
"[26] This 14-year period in Philippine history is remembered for the administration's record of human rights abuses,[27][28] particularly targeting political opponents, student activists,[29] journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship.
The new Communist Party of the Philippines was established in 1968, and was able to form an armed wing in 1969 by allying with Hukbalahap commander Bernabe Buscayno to create New People's Army.
[43]: "43" [32][45] This had the effect of mythologizing the group, with noted security specialist Richard J. Kessler observing that it invested the CPP with "a revolutionary aura that ony attracted more supporters.
This included the First Quarter Storm protests of January to March 1970;[46][47] the MV Karagatan and PMA armoury incidents which were alleged to be efforts of the NPA to acquire arms;[48] the Plaza Miranda bombing in August 1971;[49][50] Marcos' resulting suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which led to the radicalization of many students; a series of bombings in Metro Manila throughout the first nine months of 1972; and an alleged assassination attempt against Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.
[51] Economic difficulties experienced by Filipinos in the immediate aftermath of the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis led to the first major incident of unrest associated with Marcos' proclamation of martial law—the First Quarter Storm.
This was a period of civil unrest from January to March 1970 organized by students and labor groups to protest authoritarianism, alleged election cheating, and corruption under Marcos.
Unidentified suspects throwing two fragmentation grenades[55][citation needed] onto the stage while the opposition (Liberal Party) was having their miting de avance in Plaza Miranda.
One final incident associated with the proclamation of martial law took place just a handful of hours before Marcos' forces began arresting opposition members—the alleged September 22, 1972 assassination attempt on Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.
[66] In his 1987 treatise, Dictatorship & Martial Law: Philippine Authoritarianism in 1972, University of the Philippines public administration professor Alex Brillantes Jr. identifies three reasons expressed by the Marcos administration, saying that martial law:[66] The first two justifications were explicitly stated in Proclamation 1081, which cited two explicit justifications: "to save the republic" (from various plots); and "to reform society" (after the failure of American-style democracy).
[67] Those arrested were gathered in Camp Crame were Philippine Constabulary chief asked them to cooperate, saying he had received "orders to neutralize [them]," and that he would try to "make things easier" for them.
[24] The implementation of martial law closely reflected Oplan Sagittarius, a military plans leaked to the Philippine Senate by general Marcos Soliman the week before.
[42] And Marcos aide-turned whistleblower Primitivo Mijares later claimed that "The beginning infrastructure for martial law was actually laid down as early as the first day of his assumption of the Philippine presidency on December 30, 1965.
Primitivo Mijares, a Marcos detractor and author of the book Conjugal Dictatorship, alleged that there could not have been any valid referendum held from January 10 to 15, 1973 claiming the 35,000 citizen's assemblies never met and that voting was by show of hands.
Many private establishments particularly media companies critical of the government were closed, and the arrest of activists were made through the Philippine Constabulary; many of the abuses were attributed to the latter, which was then headed by future president Fidel Ramos.
In a report[83] by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on its mission to the Philippines from 31 December 1983 to 14 January 1984, various human rights abuses such as killing or "salvaging", arbitrary arrests and widespread detention for political crimes, and torture were documented.
Apart from the continued increase in militarization despite the supposed end of martial law,[84] the mission reported extensive extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of various individual arrested by or taken by military or state security forces.
In the first nine months of 1983 alone, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines had reported at least 191 cases of salvaging, a number that may have been grossly underestimated and underreported because of the lack of trained and willing documenters during the period.
[87] Reportedly, military power was extensively deployed to Mindanao not just to quell the NPA and the Moro National Liberation Front but to facilitate the penetration of multi-national business concerns.
[87] After martial law was declared, critics of the government were arrested, which included then Senators Benigno Aquino Jr. and José W. Diokno, and Manila journalists—Manila Times publisher Chino Roces and columnist Max Soliven; Manila Chronicle publisher Eugenio Lopez Jr. and his editor Amando Doronila; Philippines Free publisher-editor Teodoro Locsín Sr. and his staff writer Napoleon Rama; and Press Foundation of Asia joint executive Juan L.
[97] However, Marcos continued to rule the country while retaining virtually all of the executive powers he held as dictator, through a combination of the 1972 constitution and the various decrees he had put in place before martial law, which all remained in effect.
1959, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo officially placed Maguindanao province under a state of martial law, thereby suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the declaration was possible given the "existence of rebellion," while Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano explained that the step was taken with of "the safety, the lives and property of people of Mindanao" in mind.
[105] Implementation is to be pursuant to the 1987 Constitution, which provides for a maximum 60-day-state of martial law without Congress approval for extension, the continuation of government functions, and the safeguard of individual freedoms.
[106] While the declaration does not currently affect citizens and government units in Luzon or the Visayas, President Duterte suggested that he might extend martial law to the entire country if needed to "protect the people.
